This proposal is a request to hold the Eleventh and Twelfth Annual MBS Symposium in Washington, D.C. hosted by Howard University. Preliminary appraisal suggest that the Washington site would be advantageous from a scientific, geographic and enconomic standpoint, as well as for public exposure. Further investigation shows that the past symposia have been held in the south or southwest sections of the country over the past several years. In order to provide equitable access to the symposia, this site is the most suitable for the upcoming conference. The central objective of the proposed symposia is to produce a conference of first rank in term of the scientific quality. To this end, State-of-the-Art lectures will be given by the most outstanding scientists in the country. In addition, to answer some current questions of concern about disease entities among minority populations, mini-symposia will highlight indepth discussions in the areas of cancer, sickle-cell anemia and hypertention. Finally, these symposia will feature Productivity Workshops for: data-reduction, manuscript preparation, grants application review and preparation, as well as a teaching workshop.